Looking recap, episode seven: Mommie dearest

Spoiler alert: this post discusses episode seven of Looking, which aired on Sunday on HBO in the US and airs on Monday on Sky Atlantic in the UK. It also contains adult themes and language… all used with gay abandon

Russell Tovey, the actor formerly known for playing a werewolf, steals another scene as Kevin in Looking. Photograph: HBO

Recap

Patrick “totally” goes into a tizzy over taking Richie to meet his waspy family at his sister’s wedding. Richie bails. Dom has a tizzy about his relationship with Lynn on the eve of his restaurant opening – are they business partners or does Lynn want something more? Agustín abandons his art exhibition and confesses to boyfriend Frank that he hired CJ to have sex with them for the photo shoot/art project. Frank tells him to leave. At the wedding Patrick and his mother clash. A tipsy Kevin tries to snog Patrick and is rebuffed.

Discussion

Dom: First, yay! Looking has been renewed, with more Russell Tovey (Kevin) and Doris (Lauren Weedman). Kev and Dottie should have their own show – they are real scene stealers. I attribute this to the fact that they have both played supernatural creatures. Lauren was a werepanther on True Blood – I think she raped Jason Stackhouse. And Russ was a werewolf in Being Human.

Second, this was the best episode so far. The show is getting stronger and stronger. They took their time to build the characters and it really paid off. This week had a theme again – kind of. If last week was about deciding to be in a relationship, this week was about the pressures that brings.

Feilding: Completely agree – best episode so far. After much character development the show finally starts to push the characters into new challenges instead of defining them by previous experiences.

The scene in which Kevin ties Patrick’s bow tie just before the wedding was a bit of genius. I was in a similar situation before a wedding once and the bride’s brother had to help me tie my bow tie, after I’d made several failed attempts with a Youtube video. At that moment, I realised how intimate tying a bow tie on someone can be. I’m a huge fanboy of the Kevin and Patrick storyline and this scene combined with the renewal of Russell Tovey left me hopeful about season two.

Dom: Yes…

Kevin can do a bow tie, tell jokes and play video games. He’s BFFs with James Corden (be still my beating heart). And he used to be a werewolf. He’s basically perfect.

I also thought the scenes with Patrick’s mother (Julia Duffy) were amazing. We’ve seen how beholden Paddy is to his perception of her approval and now we get to meet her. She was fantastic. So snippy about the wedding, complaining about the dry chicken, giving the cake pops the stink eye, the uncut grass: “Apparently the gardener has prostate cancer. But it’s just going to look terrible in the pictures.”

But then there she was, sneaking a nibble from her marshmallow and marijuana treat: “It really helps since I came off the Lexapro.” It was very humanising. She says she just wants the best for Paddy, which is fair enough, I think. She might not know what “best” is, but neither does he.

Fortunately, she's not looking at the grass… Photograph: Allstar/Paramount/Sportsphoto Ltd

Feilding: I agree – Patrick’s mother was so great. And she’s right about cake pops – who catered this thing? Starbucks?

You don’t get to see as much of his father, but I was amused by what he said at the end to Patrick: “You’re not going to want one of these, are you?” It’s a subtle way of bringing up the the marriage question, but also says more about how comfortable Patrick is with his sexuality as it intersects with his family.

I can’t help but feel bad for Richie. When your friends and family don’t approve of who you’re dating – that’s a tough spot to be in regardless of sexual orientation. Patrick has done a pretty terrible job introducing Richie and I find myself rooting for Richie even though I’d really like to see the Patrick and Kevin storyline develop.

Dom: Paddy/Richie adds a bit of race and class to the mix. Much as I love Kevin – that’s a boring combo for me, even if it would please mommie dearest.

Michael Lannon, co-creator, tweeted a story about the closure of Esta Noche, San Fran’s only Latino gay bar, this week. It’s being replaced by a “New York style lounge featuring the best local House music DJs in a […] sexy den of wood, leather, red velvet, and glowing candles.” Yawn. It’s pretty obvious where Michael’s sympathies lie.

All the main characters seem to be in relationships with people who are more emotionally mature than them. I’m glad we’ll get to see how Richie/Paddy plays out next season. The other relationship story lines are shaping up too. Agustín got his comeuppance. Again, another man who doesn’t know what he wants. Frank was withering: “You paid a whore to fuck me?”

I kinda softened on Agustín. We all make mistakes. He got way out his comfort zone because he’s not as badass as he’d like to think. I can empathise with that. And then Dom/Lynn. They were squabbling like an old married couple over the flower arrangements for the restaurant. So cute.

Feilding: So I’ve been intentionally avoiding bringing up race, but I agree with this Huffington Post piece, which says that Looking is “awfully white”. It feels like this follows the trend – that Looking isn’t going to tackle an issue like coming out or racial diversity as a big narrative arc.

I haven’t taken a survey of the show for a full racial breakdown, but it feels like a poor representation of San Francisco. According to the Census Bureau, 74% of California residents identify as white compared with just over 50% in San Francisco.

Dom: I feel like people project a lot on to this show. Looking does have three non-white main characters – Agustín, Richie, Frank. That’s way more than Girls, which got similar stick. But I think the writers are trying to get away from the idea that gay dramas have to be “about the issues” – Aids, prejudice, race, douchebag politicos robbing us of our rights.

I agree that it is a little odd there aren’t more Asians or black characters. That said, the gays are just as guilty of racism and segregation as anyone. If you date an Asian, you’re a “rice queen”. Etc etc. We love a label, don’t we?

So what do you think?

Are you glad Looking is getting a second season? Is it avoiding the issues or trying something new? Are marshmallow mellows as good brownies? Should Patrick have snogged Kevin?